Poet

In so many ways, segregation shaped me, and education liberated me.

Until blacks and whites see each other as brother and sister, we will not have parity. It's very clear.

I was married a few times, and one of my husbands was jealous of me writing.

For a person who grew up in the '30s and '40s in the segregated South, with so many doors closed without explanation to me, libraries and books said, 'Here I am, read me.' Over time I have learned I am at my best around books.

It's very important to know the neighbor next door and the people down the street and the people in another race.

I had given up some youth for knowledge, but my gain was more valuable than the loss.

Don't get older just to get wiser. If you get older, you will be wiser, I believe that - if you dare. But get older because it's fun!

If you want what you're saying heard, then take your time and say it so that the listener will actually hear it. You might save somebody's life. Your own, first.

I liked to write from the time I was about 12 or 13. I loved to read. And since I only spoke to my brother, I would write down my thoughts. And I think I wrote some of the worst poetry west of the Rockies. But by the time I was in my 20s, I found myself writing little essays and more poetry - writing at writing.

We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans - because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings. That's why we paint, that's why we dare to love someone - because we have the impulse to explain who we are.

I have a feeling that I make a very good friend, and I'm a good mother, and a good sister, and a good citizen. I am involved in life itself - all of it. And I have a lot of energy and a lot of nerve.

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.

Aku berharap bisa tertawa sesering aku menangis; untuk menuntaskan tugas dan mencoba mencintai seseorang dan mencoba berani menerima cinta kembali.

I work very hard, and I play very hard. I'm grateful for life. And I live it - I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it.

Apa pun yang ingin Anda lakukan, jika Anda ingin menjadi hebat dalam hal itu, Anda harus menyukainya dan dapat berkorban untuknya.

Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.

I love a Hebrew National hot dog with an ice-cold Corona - no lime. If the phone rings, I won't answer until I'm done.

Inilah waktunya untuk setiap orang tua untuk mengajarkan generasi muda bahwa di dalam keberagaman, ada keindahan dan kekuatan.

The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.